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Chipper tweaks hamstring during BP

Braves' Jones injures hamstring

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By Mark Bowman
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MLB.com |

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. -- Less than four games into the Grapefruit League season, Chipper Jones once again has reason to wonder when his injury woes will cease. The Braves third baseman was forced to abbreviate his Sunday morning batting-practice session after feeling discomfort in his right hamstring.

Based simply on the disgust he showed when he initially suffered the injury, it looked like Jones might have suffered a significant injury. But after getting treatment for nearly an hour, he told reporters that he doesn't think he's going to miss any significant time.

"You're going to do it down here from time to time," said Jones after arriving at his locker with a slight limp. "[I] caught it early enough. I don't think this should be a big deal."

Jones felt some tightness in the hamstring during infield practice at Disney's Champion Stadium, and the discomfort increased while he was taking batting practice from the right side. After taking his first swing from the left side of the plate, he became disgusted and began walking off the field.

Once he reached the dugout, Jones threw his bat into a rack and exclaimed, "Stupid."

"I've got to be cautious down here," Jones said. "I'm not going to blow it out."

Jones had a similar response in mid-March last year when he strained his right oblique muscle during batting practice. That ailment kept him out for less than a week, and he's hoping to realize the same fate while rehabbing this hamstring injury.

When Jones pulled his right hamstring in April 2004, he went on the disabled list for the first time since 1996. During the three seasons that have followed, he's made four more trips to the disabled list.

But his hamstring hasn't sidelined him since 2004.

"This is not near as bad," Jones said. "In 2004, that was scary."

Mark Bowman is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.